TN Govt Collects 300 MT Waste from Govt Offices in Special Drive
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Chennai: Tamil Nadu govt on Thursday collected over 300 metric tonnes of waste from 1,100 govt offices across the state, including the state secretariat. The initiative, launched under the "Thooimai Iyakkam" (Cleanliness Movement), coincided with World Environment Day on June 5 and marks the beginning of a larger, phased campaign.
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Special programme implementation department minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said the initiative was kicked off in all 38 districts. "We have created a war room in GCC's headquarters to monitor the activities," he said, adding that the drive will also expand to colleges, hospitals, and schools in the next ten days.
The drive was spearheaded by the newly established Clean Tamil Nadu Company Limited (CTCL), which aims to streamline the collection, recycling, and reuse of waste across state departments.
Offices of district collectors, corporations, municipalities, panchayat unions, and various other departments participated in the effort, handing over pre-segregated waste including plastics, e-waste, metals, paper, glass, and unusable furniture.
Udhayanidhi said the initiative must be a long-term one, seeking support from members of the public. Officials said all collected waste will be processed in the composting centres and will either be recycled or reused.
The special projects department has also released guidelines to all govt offices to carry out cleaning drives every week and segregate the waste.
Udhayanidhi said measures to improve the initiative, including funding, will be discussed. Earlier this week, the govt released a video on solid waste management awareness featuring actor Yogi Babu on waste segregation and disposal.
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